Once is Once
by Vera-Sama
Summary: AU, Dark Oneshot. Light is facing his last night alive, scheduled to die the next morning when he receives a very unexpected visitor.


Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. If I did, the series would've been vastly different.

AN: I'm not usually one for writing dark stories, but this idea surfaced, and I didn't want to let it slip away. For those of you who are my regular readers, don't worry, I will be returning to fluff and humor soon enough. I have a new chapter for 'Oh, Bother!' almost done, as well as a fluffy new oneshot set Whammy's era. In the meantime, please enjoy this departure from my normal submissions. There's a bit of a set-up beforehand, but hopefully it's all worth it in the end.

-Once Is Once-

Light paced the cell in annoyance, considering over and over where things had gone wrong. Each move had been carefully calculated from the outset of this genius plan. Every contingency had been considered, and planned for accordingly.

Except for _this_ one, it seemed.

He had thought Takada would take care of Mello, but it seemed he'd had one last ace up his sleeve, in the form of a page from the Death Note he'd held on to for dear life since the book had come into his possession. He'd used it o save his own life by causing Takada to write a rather longwinded confession, explaining everything she knew about the Kira plot before killing herself.

Mello, by himself, would not have been enough to stop Light's brilliant plan, but when things went south at the Yellow Box warehouse, Light could feel his dreams of a new world crumbling. He'd counted on Mikami's obsession with schedule and order to ensure the safety of the Death Note…to keep it from being tampered with. Apparently, near had also counted on it to ensure the tampering would go unnoticed.

Once he'd been uncovered as Kira, he was forcibly retrained, along with Mikami, and hauled off to a cell to await his execution. A public trial and sentencing would've given the two men the chance to be held as Martyrs. Instead, Near used his leverage as the rightful L to have private executions held the next morning. It was also decided that Light's mother and sister would not be told the truth. The Task Force had requested it, insisting that having lost Soichiro, and no to lose Light, would be bad enough without adding salt to the wound.

As irony would have it, Near had seen fit to imprison Light in the very same cell L had confined him in all those years ago. Thankfully, this time, he was not bound, and was given free movement about the cell, for what that was worth, at least.

Light ceased his pacing and flopped, rather ungracefully, onto the bed. He glared up at the surveillance camera in the top corner. The familiar little red light signifying that someone was watching him had long ago gone dark. Apparently they felt there was no need to keep an eye on him now. They knew he was harmless without his Death Note. Besides, what else would he do in the cell? Kill himself and save them the trouble? He snorted at the thought and buried his face in his hands, still retracing all of his steps at a mental pace so rapid, it was a wonder he could keep up.

"Hey Yagami." A voice called from the entrance to the cell. "Near seems to think it'd be _fitting_ to give you a last meal."

Light looked up and was not surprised to see Mello, a smug, triumphant smile spread across his scarred face.

"Don't know why…it's more than you let any of your victims have." The blonde continued. Despite the smile still being in place, there was obvious venom to his tone. "Although I heard L was eating chocolates when you killed him, but I doubt that counts…"

"Go to Hell." Light spat, returning his face to his hands

"Promise to wait for me there?" Mello asked sweetly. He gave a snort. "If Near wants you to eat, he can get his ass down here and bring it to you himself. Have fun in hell, you murderous Bastard."

Light heard the clicking of his boots as he strode off down the hallway and out of the area. 'At last' He thought. 'A little peace before I die…' Head still down, eyes still closed, he began to massage his temples in an attempt to stave off the headache he felt coming. Knowing you were going to die in a few hours' time was bad enough without a migraine to help things along.

"Light-kun should've taken advantage of Mello-kun's offer."

Light froze. His eyes shot open, but he couldn't bring himself to look up or to speak. It couldn't be…it just couldn't be…

"As he said, my chocolates were not quite the same as what you were being offered." The voice continued. "Had I known it was to be my final meal, I would've liked to finish them…or perhaps had an entire Strawberry Cheesecake, like the ones sold in this quaint little bakery in Winchester…"

Light finally lifted his head. His gaze met an all too familiar, if long absent, sight. There barely three feet away, stood Ryuzaki-no, _L Lawliet_. Light blinked several times, willing the image away.

Still, there he stood, slouched and poorly dressed, head tilted to one side, gnawing gently at his thumb, free hand shoved in his pocket, and one bare foot scratching lazily at the back of the other leg. His wide gray eyes stared at Light from underneath the fringe of wild black hair.

Black as the ink that had lead to his death…Black as the notebook that his name had been written in.

Light shook his head a little. "This...isn't possible."

"Why, Light-kun…you look as if you've seen a ghost…" Light watched as those pale lips turned upward slightly in a condescendingly innocent smile, watched as the dark eyes took on a mischievous, malevolent glint.

"You're dead." Light found his voice at last. "There's no way this is happening."

"Yes, I am." L conceded, taking a few slow, shuffling steps forward. "But yes, this is happening. I had vowed to see this case through to the end. It should be no surprise that here, at the end, I appear."

"What, are you supposed to be here to make me feel remorseful for my actions?" Light asked, a snort of laughter making itself known before Light realized he'd found the idea amusing. "If that's the case, you can go away too. I know what I did was right, and these fools will see that soon enough, when the world returns to the festering cesspit it was before I found the notebook."

L chuckled, a sound that made Light's skin want to crawl right off his bones and seek safe refuge under the uncomfortable cot that served as a bed in the small cell.

"Light-kun is mistaken. I am not here to guilt his conscience into repenting his crimes, and begging those who survived me for forgiveness before death." L had paused his shuffling steps a moment to respond, but resumed his path towards the mass murderer, stopping only once he stood directly before the brunet.

"Then…why…?" Despite himself, Light found himself shrinking back against the wall. Something about the look on L's face, combined with the fact that the late detective was _so close_, and the fact that L shouldn't even _be_ there, with him in the cell in the first place sent ominous chills down his spine.

"You should know, Light-kun…" Something silver glinted as L retrieved his hand from his pocket after all this time.

There was a flash and a movement of inhuman speed as Light felt n all too familiar sensation of cool metal encircle his wrist. He tried to jerk his hand away. L wasn't real…the handcuffs couldn't be either. There was a bruising pain when L jerked the chain back, bringing Light's hand with it. He clutched the chain close enough that light could not move that hand away as he gave another fierce tug, and pulled Light onto the cell floor.

Light ell to the cement floor with a hard thud and a grunt of pain before raising his free hand to punch at L. Anything to get away from the terrible apparition. L's free hand moved in that same inhumanly quick way to clutch the attacking hand at the wrist.

It was a tight grip. Tight and cold. The grip of Death itself, Light realized as all of the color drained from his face, taking the will to fight along with it. "L…no…please…" he began weakly. He knew it was pointless, but the fear that was holding him…clutching at his heart…

"Now, now, Light-kun must be fair about this." The apparition spoke, another chuckle bubbling up from his throat as he forced Light flat on his back, and crouched over him in that odd manner. "As I have said before, Once is once…and what is fair is fair, is it not?"

L no longer had to hold him. He knew fighting was pointless He felt his heart seize as L gave a wide smirk and shoved a hand shove deep into his chest, unhindered by the cloth, skin and bone that separated his heart from the outside world. With his last ounce of strength, he managed a scream the like of which could've woken the dead.

If the dead had not already been present, that is…

xXxXxXx

Near's head shot up when he heard the bloodcurdling scream from the other side of the floor where his captive was being held.

"What the Hell?" Mello swore, leaping to his feet, chocolate bar falling forgotten, for once in the history of all that was Mello, to the couch as the blond started for the door leading to the locked ward. Matt, who had been seated next to him, was close behind. It only took a moment for Near to be on his feet and behind them.

The three reached the cell that contained one Light Yagami, _Kira_, and could only stare I shock at the sight that met their eyes.

"He's dead." Near informed, although it didn't have to be said.

Yagami lay, sprawled out across the cell floor, eyes open and staring, unseeing, at the ceiling. It was obvious to the trio, after all of their time working on the Kira case, that the insane genius had died of a heart attack.

What was rather mysterious about the whole ordeal was the dark, angry bruise encasing one of his wrists. If memory served, it was the same wrist that had been contained in a handcuff when L had seen fit to hold the boy under twenty-four hour surveillance.

Equally as baffling was the letter 'L' on the brunet's cheek, still tricking blood in all of its newness. As inexplicable as it was, it looked as if it had been scratched-no, _clawed_ into the smooth skin. As Near opened the cell door and carefully shuffled in on sock-clad feet, he paused to nice something else. Sitting there, atop Light's chest, was a chocolate candy, smashed to reveal the strawberry crème inside.

The three geniuses looked to one another in utter shock and confusion before returning their gazes to the body before them. Besides Yagami, they were the only people in the entire building. Everyone else had been sent home for the night, and Teru Mikami was being kept elsewhere. There was _no way_ anyone could've gotten in and out so quickly, or at all, for that matter, without their notice.

A long silence stretched between the three as they each considered what exactly this could mean.

"I guess it's like L always used to say…" Matt spoke up at last, goggle-clad eyes finally looking away from the body. "…Once is Once."

-The End-

AN: Well, there you have my attempt at something a bit darker. I hope it didn't suck completely. Please review and let me know what you thought. I don't do 'dark' often, so feedback would be awesome.

As a side note, the 'Death Note Theme' is just creepy enough to have aided my venture into darkness here. xD


End file.
